Michael Hooper executed for killing ex-girlfriend, kids

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma death row inmate Michael Hooper has been executed for the 1993 shooting deaths of his former girlfriend and her two young children.

Hooper received a lethal dose of drugs Tuesday evening at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. The 40-year-old was pronounced dead at 6:14 p.m.

Hooper sued the state last month in an effort to halt his execution, claiming the state's three-drug lethal injection protocol was unconstitutional. But the request was rejected by the courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court earlier Tuesday.

Hooper was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for killing his former girlfriend, 23-year-old Cynthia Lynn Jarman, and her two children, 5-year-old Tonya and 3-year-old Timmy.

He is the fourth Oklahoma death row inmate to be executed this year.

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